New Iowa Rules For Test Ballots
When the county election officers prepare their equipment they run test ballots through to see if the machines still can read and count. Since few counties actually do their own ballot and scanner configuration, this testing is the only way to know if its been done correctly by the subcontractor. If the testing is inadequate, you can get Pottawattamie’s problem. If you don’t have a voter-verified paper trail, you are screwed.
Thankfully the Secretary of State has now proposed rules for these test ballots. The rules require the testing of every touch screen being used, rather than just one per precinct. They also allow “Members of the public, working with a person designated by the commissioner, [to] provide a written test plan and test the operation of the DRE voting machines.”
You should support this aspect of the new rules during the public comment period which runs only until Tuesday. Contact Sandy Steinbach at sos@sos.state.ia.us to endorse thorough test ballot rules.